Section 06 Design and Production Dessin Et Production

Contents / Matières Session / Séance Authors / Auteurs 06 Index Section 06 Design and Production Dessin et production Problems in screen map design Mette Arleth Area-Normalized Thematic Views T. Alan Keahey Color Perception Research on Electronic Maps Chen Yufen Interface Design Issues For Interactive Animated Maps Sven Fuhrmann, Werner Kuhn National Place Name Register Integrated with Cartographic Names Register for Multiple Scales and Products Teemu Leskinen Label placement for dynamically generated screen maps Ingo Petzold, Lutz Plümer, Markus Heber Towards an Evaluation of Quality for Label Placement Methods Steven van Dijk, Marc van Kreveld, Tycho Strijk, Alexander Wolff Production flowcharting for mapping organisations: A guide for both lecturers and production managers Sjef J.F.M. van der Steen Automatic Bilingual Name Placement of 1:1000 Map Sheets of Hong Kong Lilian S.C. Pun-Cheng and Geoffrey Y.K. Shea A Model for Standardizing Cartographic Depiction of International Boundaries at Small to Medium Scales Leo Dillon Conception de cartes pour l’étude comparative de l’urbanisation de trois pays du Maghreb Vanessa Rousseaux Design and Production / Dessin et production Contents / Matières Session / Séance Authors / Auteurs 06 Index Coping with Qualitative-Quantitative Data in Meteorological Cartography: Standardization, Ergonomics, and Facilitated Viewing Mark Monmonier Noise in Urban Environment: Problems of Representation and Communication Jean-Claude Muller, Holger Scharlach, Matthias Jäger The Visualization of Population Distribution in a Cartographic Information System - Aspects of Technical Realization of Dot Maps on Screen Robert Ditz Ottawa ICA / ACI 1999 - Proceedings / Actes 06 Index Session / Séance 01-D Problems in screen map design Mette Arleth Aalborg University, Laboratory of Geoinformatics Fibigerstraede 11 DK-9220 Aalborg Ø Denmark ph.: +45 96 35 82 83 fax: +45 98 15 57 75 [email protected] Abstract Screen maps, with their physical conditions and interactive potentials calls for design strategies other than traditional printed maps. This paper is based on part of a Ph.D. study that concerns screen map design. It is found that the process of designing and developing screen maps is more manageable when the process is separated into two phases, concerning the Map Interior and the Map exterior respectively.Problems and methods of the two design phases are mentioned, as well as some suggested solutions. Introduction The topic of this paper is screen map design. Through the last decades, the computer and thereby the primary output facility, the screen, has become not only a tool, but a medium in its own respect. Screen maps, on CD- ROM or the Internet successively supplements and replaces traditional paper maps. But suitable design of screen maps still constitutes a cartographic challenge, due to the low resolution and limited size of the most prevalent technology today; the 15" or 17" CRT screens. As [Peterson,1995] says, the influence of the traditional paper medium on the screen map is heavy. So heavy that many of the commonly available screen maps look like scanned versions of paper maps (and many of them are), covered with bulky symbols that signalise underlying interactive elements. These screen maps simply fail to exploit the potential of the computer medium [Bär and Sieber, 1997]. Fortunately there are many fine exceptions from this description, one distin- guished example being the Interactive Atlas of Switzerland, which with a combination of aesthetically pleas- ing graphic and extensive smooth interactivity shows the way ahead for interactive atlas technology. But it is an exception. To overcome the physical limitations of the screen, the screen map has to take advantage of the enhanced interactive and dynamic potential offered by the computer medium. The starting point must be the medium as it is, not only as it should or could be. Inspiration and knowledge can be gained by turning the attention towards other fields working with visual communication and audio-visual medias. The cartographers have to realise that comprehensive knowledge of information technology and multimedia techniques is today a necessity. With this in mind a Ph.D. project concerning appropriate screen map design is currently going on at Aalborg University. The project includes theoretic considerations as well as a case study that includes a user test. The case study concerns setting up guidelines for suitable screen map design for a specific purpose, physical plan- ning, but the theoretical basis of the guidelines might proof to have more general apllicability. This paper will present and argue one of the basic ideas in the project: That screen map design both as regards method as well Design and Production / Dessin et production 06 Index as contents must be divided into two phases: The Map Interior design (the map elements, symbolisation etc) and the Map Exterior design (the tools and functions for using the map). Furthermore some problems in the two design phases will be mentioned as well as some possible solutions. The screen map, an internal representation The representational approach to maps and cartography has been presented and thoroughly investigated by [MacEachren,1995]. Another and more general understanding of representations is presented by [Norman, 1993] (founding Chair of the Department of Cognitive Science at the University of California, San Diego). [Norman, 1993] places representations in a larger group of what he calls cognitive artefacts, tools or methods dedicated to supplement and expand the human memory and cognitive abilities. Or, in the words of [Bertin,1983]: “The entire problem is one of augmenting this natural intelligence in the best possible way, of finding the artificial memory that best supports our natural means of perception.” Maps and other cartographic visualisations are representations of the physical (or imaginary) world, representations that make it possible for users to perform higher order thinking, reflect upon the world represented and recognise new spatial patterns [Norman, 1993]. These higher order thoughts are very hard for the unaided mind to perform, having to dedi- cate mental capacity to an internal picture of the world. If the representation - the map - is well made, and the represented features are depicted in an easily perceivable way, the essential connections appear more obvious, and leads the user to new experiences and ideas [Norman, 1993]. The critical trick is to get the abstractions right, to represent the important thing and not the unimportant, and to choose the relevant cartographic vari- ables to represent the features. Much cartographic research has been dedicated to the latter subject, especially as regards the paper map. However, there are differences between the paper maps and the screen maps. The difference consists of the visibility of the contents and properties of the representation. In the paper map the visibility of the contents and properties of the map is an inherent characteristic. Everything that the paper map contains is shown on the paper, and though the use and meaning of the displayed information might require special knowledge, all information is readily visible. Contrary to this, the screen map is a graphic representation of underlying digital map data, basically numbers in rows and columns. To become a perceivable and interpretable representation, these numbers have to be translated, visualised in a way that enables the user to get insight in the underlying spatial or abstract connections. A screen map is only one of several possible representations of the underlying data, one single surface representation out of an extensive internal representation. The surface can be changed and manipulated at any time, and there are even hidden representations; temporary calculations, internal states used only by the software that are never displayed, never visible. The screen map falls in the category of internal representations [Norman, 1993], and with the screen map as with all other internal representations, there is much more than can be readily perceived. Internal representations need interfaces, visual aids that transforms the information hidden within the internal representation into surface forms that can be used [Nor- man, 1993]. Consequently, designing a screen map is not only a question of designing the map. The map designer must supply the map user with an easily perceivable interface and usable, relevant tools for manipu- lating the internal representations. Designing a map and developing interactive tools for it are two quite different tasks, using different methods, different technology and with different theoretic bases. Even though in the final product, the screen map and the interface should appear as an integrated natural whole, it seems reasonable to divide the design process into two equally important phases: 1. The Map Interior design; the selection and symbolisation of the map elements, the choice(s) of level of detail etc, 2. The Map Exterior design; the system development or multimedia design, production of interactive/multimedia elements etc. Ottawa ICA / ACI 1999 - Proceedings / Actes 06 Index The Map Interior design Designing the screen map interior does not fundamentally differ from traditional paper design. The same techniques and theories can be applied, only adjusted for the special physical properties of the screen map, which are, in short, limited size and resolution. In practice this essentially means putting

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